"Tag", as it is commonly called, has long been an easy, active and fun game for two or more people, typically children, to play. A first person is chosen at random to be "it". Then, that person runs after the other players and attempts to touch, e.g. "tag", one of the other players who, at the same time, is trying to keep his or her distance from the person who is "it". If a player is tagged, the person who is currently "it" exclaims "Tag, you're it!" or "You're it!", or some other similar expression, and the newly tagged person now is "it" and has to chase the others players. Since the game is open ended (i.e. there is no set ending point or goal), the game continues until the players become tired or bored. Sometimes, if a player who is slower than the other players is tagged, that player may quickly lose interest in the game if he or she cannot successfully tag someone else in a relatively short period of time.
One variant of tag is touch football. Touch football is played like conventional football, except that instead of tackling the player carrying the football, in order to stop play, another player has to touch the ball-carrying player with both hands. This results in fewer injuries and allows players to play football without any gear whatsoever except, of course, a football. However, one problem with touch football is that it is often difficult to determine whether or not a player carrying the football has actually been touched with both the hands of an opposing player. Disagreements over this can often arise, especially if there is no referee to mediate the game.
Flag football is a more accurate version of touch football. Each player affixes a belt around his or her waist carrying two (2) or more "flags" detachably connected thereto, e.g. one "flag" is detachably affixed on the player's right side and the other "flag" is detachably affixed on the player's left side. Each flag is generally a strip of flexible plastic or laminated fabric, typically ten to fourteen inches long and one to three inches wide, and hangs down the side of the player's leg. Numerous means have been devised to detachably connect the "flags" to the belt. One popular means is to use VELCRO.TM. brand hook/loop fasteners. Another means is to have a pair of ball joint receptacles on the belt, with one end of each "flag" being outfitted with a corresponding ball joint member.
Every player of each flag football team is provided with a flag belt, with the flags of each team being generally one of two (2) colors (flag football sets are sold with a number of belts, and a number of flags of one color and a number of flags of another color). During play, if one of the "flags" of a ball-carrying player is detached (i.e. grabbed and yanked off) by an opposing player, the ball-carrying player is considered tagged or tackled, play stops, and the players regroup for another "play". The tagged player reattaches the detached flag and the game resumes.